1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cup attaching apparatus for attaching a cup as a processing jig to a subject lens which is processed by an eyeglass lens processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a subject lens is ground by a processing apparatus, a cup (a suction cup, a cup which is fixed with a pressure sensitive adhesive sheet placed in between, or the like) as a processing jig is attached to the subject lens by means of a cup attaching apparatus as a preliminary-step operation. Conventionally, the cup attaching operation is generally performed as follows.
In cases where the subject lens is a unifocal lens, the lens is first marked with a marked point in alignment with the position of the optical center and the direction of the cylinder axis of the subject lens by using a lens meter. Subsequently, the subject lens is moved to the cup attaching apparatus, the marked point on the subject lens and a reference scale of the attaching apparatus are projected onto a screen, and while observing them, positioning (alignment) is effected so that the reference scale and the marked point assume a predetermined positional relationship, and the cup is attached to the subject lens.
In addition, in the case of multifocal lenses such as a progressive multifocal lens and a bifocal lens, layout marks provided on the lens surface and a small lens portion of the lens are projected onto the screen, positioning (alignment) is effected on the basis of the projected image and the reference scale, and the cup is attached to the subject lens.
However, with the method using the above-described conventional apparatus, the lens meter and the cup attaching apparatus are required for attaching the cup to the unifocal lens, so that this method is disadvantageous in terms of the installation space and economic efficiency. In addition, the respective apparatuses must be operated, so that the operating efficiency is poor.
Further, on the cup attaching apparatus side, an alignment operation for effecting positioning in conformity with the marked point is required, it is not easy for a person unskilled in the operation to speedily perform the positioning (alignment) with high accuracy. The poor positioning (alignment) accuracy leads to an error at the time of processing. Particularly in processing centers where subject lenses are processed in a concentrated manner, there has been a demand for controlling the occurrence of processing errors, due to cup attachment and for improving the operating efficiency as much as possible.
Furthermore, when the cup is attached to the subject lens, confirmation is necessary as to whether or not the lens diameter is sufficiently large enough for an eyeglasses frame into which the lens is fitted, but this confirmation operation has not been easy.
In view of the above-described problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which makes it possible to efficiently perform the cup attaching operation by facilitating the alignment for attaching the cup without performing the marking operation on the subject lens, and which makes it possible to easily confirm processability.
To attain the above-noted object, the present invention provides the following.
A cup attaching apparatus having an attaching device with a reference axis to attach a cup as a processing jig to a subject lens along the reference axis; an illuminating device for illuminating the lens and an index plate having an index of a predetermined pattern by rays of light shaped into a diameter larger than a diameter of the lens. The cup attaching apparatus further includes a screen for projecting an image of the lens and an image of the index which are formed by the illuminating device; an imaging device for picking up the images projected onto the screen; an optical-center detecting device for obtaining a position of an optical center of the lens by processing the index image picked up by the imaging device; and a display device for displaying in a superposed manner information on the position of the optical center obtained by the optical-center detecting device and the lens image picked up by the imaging device. In the above cup attaching apparatus, attachment of the cup to the lens is effected by alignment while observing display by the display device.
The present invention also provides a cup attaching apparatus having an attaching device having a reference axis to attach a cup as a processing jig to a subject lens along the reference axis. The cup attaching apparatus further includes an illuminating device for illuminating the lens and an index plate having an index of a predetermined pattern; an index detecting device for detecting an image of the index formed by the illuminating device; an optical-center detecting device for obtaining a position of an optical center of the lens with respect to the reference axis on the basis of a result of detection by the index detecting device; and a position storing device for storing information on the position of the optical center obtained by the optical-center detecting device when the cup is attached to the lens by the attaching device. In the foregoing cup attaching apparatus, the information on the position of the optical center stored by the position storing device is used as information on correction at the time of processing by an eyeglass lens processing apparatus.
The present invention also provides a cup attaching apparatus for attaching a cup onto an eyeglass lens, the cup being adapted to fix the eyeglass lens onto a lens rotating shaft of a lens processing apparatus. The cup attaching apparatus has a cup attaching device for moving the cup to the lens placed at a predetermined position, and attaching the cup onto the lens; a detecting device, provided with a measurement optical system having a measurement light source, a measurement index plate and a photoelectric detector, for detecting a position of an optical center of the lens and a direction of a cylinder axis of the lens; a cylinder axis instructing device for instructing a direction of the cylinder axis of the lens; and a display device for displaying a reference mark indicating a predetermined reference position, and an optical center mark and a cylinder axis mark both based on a result of detection by the detecting device, the optical center mark indicating the position of the optical center of the lens with respect to the predetermined reference position, the cylinder axis mark indicating the direction of the cylinder axis of the lens with respect to the intructed direction of the cylinder axis.
Other objective and features of the invention will become evident in the course of the description thereof, which follows.